Eddie George reveals how text from Urban Meyer led to him being next head coach at Bowling Green

Eddie George wasn’t necessarily anticipating becoming the new head coach of Bowling Green. But a timely message from Urban Meyer led to the opportunity.

Meyer coached Bowling Green once upon a time, so there was a connection right off the bat. George was getting ready for spring football with Tennessee State after completing the 2024 season.

But, he pivoted and took a look at Bowling Green. It was almost divine intervention.

“Honestly, I wasn’t looking for another opportunity. I was committed to finishing off my job at Tennessee State,” George said. “Going into the last year of my contract, that was my focus, given the challenges of the university, you know, it was challenging. It was a situation where it presented itself. You know, I asked God, maybe three weeks ago, you know, give me a sign of what’s next. Give me a sign of what’s next. I promise you, this is exactly what happened as I’m driving back from Indianapolis from the combine, driving through Bowling Green, Kentucky … 

“I see the sign Bowling Green, and I looked down on my phone. It said ‘message from Urban Meyer,’ talking about, are you interested in the Bowling Green job? And I put the phone down, I was like, ‘oh boy.’ What are you trying to say? Though, given the timing where everything is, we’re two weeks out of spring ball, I’m thinking about how we’re going to run the ball this spring.”

The 51-year-old George moves up the FBS level after going 24-22 overall and 13-12 in conference play over four seasons at FCS Tennessee State, including leading the Tigers (9-4, 6-1 OVC-Big South-OVC) to one of their best seasons in school history after finishing tied for first in the OVC-Big South, its first conference championship since 1999. George was also named OVC-Big South coach of the year in 2024.

“And I vetted it out. I called various coaches, I talked to my wife, talked to my son … And said, what’s the possibility, what’s the reality of this job, what’s the, can I be successful there,” George said. “So spent the last week going through all of that, and then I just continued to walk in faith, not by sight. And I said, Okay, if this is meant for me. I’m going to go forward and put my best foot out there, and didn’t know what to expect, I would say, hey, if I get it great, I’m going to go and give it my all and turn this program, not turn this program around, but elevate it to the other level. Or I’m going to go back to Tennessee State and finish the season off strong and let the chips fall where they may. And I live with that.” 

George replaces former BG head coach Scott Loeffler. He left the Falcons after six seasons to become the Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach.

“So we worked it out,” George said. “We have our vision, it’s in harmony … what I envision as a football program on and off the football field, in the age at NIL and they and let me be clear, NIL is not the end all be all … It’s part of it now, but it’s not the main focus that we’re going to focus on. We have to acknowledge it. It’s going to be a part of our deal, but that’s not going to be our foundation or our core values, you know? That’s just going to be discipline and development, hard work, integrity, transparency. That’s what we’re going to build our young men on.”